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Nurse Next Door offers in-home care services

Carolyn Faechner has spent 35 years working as a registered nurse — much of it dealing with seniors in care facilities.

Carolyn Faechner has spent 35 years working as a registered nurse — much of it dealing with seniors in care facilities.

“All you heard was, ‘I want to go home,’” she reflected, explaining the motivation for her current business.

That business is Nurse Next Door, a home health care service that provides clients with everything from companionship to complex care.

Faechner, who grew up near Condor, recently launched a Nurse Next Door franchise in Red Deer. Based in Vancouver, Nurse Next Door operate out of 38 locations across Canada, including three in each of Edmonton and Calgary.

Faechner has five staff, including another registered nurse, certified health care attendants and companions.

Together, they offer a range of in-home services that extend from basic housekeeping to administration of medication and wound care.

Such assistance can mean the difference between having to move into a continuing care facility or remaining at home — with the latter the preferred option of most seniors.

“Well over 80 per cent want to stay at home,” said Faechner.

Helping them to do so not only improves their outlook, she added, but reduces the strain on the health care system.

With 10 per cent of Red Deer’s current population 65 or older, there’s a huge need for at-home care, said Faechner. And that percentage is growing.

“By 2030-31, it’s going to be at least 25 per cent.”

During her longtime involvement in geriatric care, Faechner recognized the growing demand for in-home care.

“I did see the potential for that, but I did not see that as a business opportunity.”

That changed this spring, when she learned about Nurse Next Door.

It was started in 2001 by Ken Sim and John DeHart, both of whom had difficulty finding help for family members in need of home care. After developing Nurse Next Door in Vancouver, they franchised the concept and are now looking at expansion in the United States.

Nurse Next Door has a 24-hour call-in service, so help can be summoned whenever needed. It also matches clients with appropriate and compatible staff members, said Faechner, and maintains those personal relationships.

Most clients are seniors, but they can also be dependent adults.

Although other home companion and nursing services exist, the industry is not well-regulated in Alberta, she said.

Faechner said her work is gratifying, and she enjoys improving seniors’ quality of life.

“Elder care is what I want to do,” she said. “There’s no question about that, that’s where I want to be.”

Additional information about Nurse Next Door can be obtained online at www.NurseNextDoor.com or by emailing Faechner at reddeer@nursenextdoor.com.

hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com